As he inspected the food, he began talking about what it takes to prepare the ribs and other barbecue dishes that have made him so well-known in Polk County.

The Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival in Tryon will celebrate its 20th anniversary next weekend, and Denton has been a big part of its successful run. He's twice won first place — once in chicken and once in brisket — and he's been the most successful local cooker in the competition.

Denton was a competitor for 14 consecutive years, but for the past two years, he's been a volunteer. He now inspects the meats entered in the competition.

At 70, Denton is considered a barbecue scholar, and he got his education through 16 years of trial and error.

A former maintenance manager for Simkins Industries, Denton started cooking barbecue on a whim. He loved the food and decided to make it his hobby. But he was also determined that if he was going to do it, he would do it right.

He enrolled in a Kansas City Barbecue Society cooking class and also took a KCBS judging class. After that instruction, Denton hit the ground running, and he didn't waste any time stepping out onto his home turf with his cooking skills. Friends nudged him forward, and Denton, a Columbus resident, entered the festival in 1997.

Denton and his A-Team didn't perform like rookies when they ventured into the competitive world of barbecue. In his first time out, he placed in the top 10 in all three categories — brisket, pork and chicken — at the barbecue festival.

After getting his feet wet in Tryon, the A-Team traveled to Shelby for the Hog Happnin' Festival, where he was crowned Reserve Grand Champion in 1997.

“You just try to do the best you can do and, luckily, we've done pretty good,” Denton said.

Now Denton is meticulous. After he entered the barbecue world, he traveled through North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee to educate himself on different techniques and different barbecue flavors.

“I'm always working on my taste,” he said.

His interest in barbecue hasn't been limited to the competition circuit. He also caters. He's got a trailer that folds out into a barbecuing kitchen, so he can cook no matter where he is. He sets up shop at many of the Polk County festivals.

The business side, however, doesn't compare to the competitions. Denton remembers not sleeping the nights before the Tryon festival. He'd show up at midnight on Friday.

“As quick as they inspect my meat, I put my dry rub on,” he said.

Denton would get his pork and brisket going first, and then around 5 a.m., he'd start his chicken and ribs. The process is painstaking, Denton said, but he doesn't hesitate to identify his favorite part.

“Preparing it and getting it ready is really enjoyable,” he said. “Even before you cook it, it makes you hungry.”

When that process is complete and it's time for the judging, Denton admits that he would get “uptight and nervous.”

“You want everything beautiful when you turn it in,” he said. His wife, Judy, helped the A-Team with appearances, decorating the boxes in which the barbecue was served.

A successful competitor has to have great-tasting food and a top-notch presentation.

Denton is sympathetic to the stress the cookers arriving in Tryon this week will be feeling. While they might be anxious, the environment at Harmon Field provides a serene backdrop, he said. Denton has competed all over the Carolinas, but he says the festival in Tryon can't be beat.

<p>Harry Denton pulled back some aluminum foil to reveal a rack of ribs.</p><p>As he inspected the food, he began talking about what it takes to prepare the ribs and other barbecue dishes that have made him so well-known in Polk County.</p><p>The Blue Ridge BBQ and Music Festival in Tryon will celebrate its 20th anniversary next weekend, and Denton has been a big part of its successful run. He's twice won first place — once in chicken and once in brisket — and he's been the most successful local cooker in the competition.</p><p>Denton was a competitor for 14 consecutive years, but for the past two years, he's been a volunteer. He now inspects the meats entered in the competition.</p><p>At 70, Denton is considered a barbecue scholar, and he got his education through 16 years of trial and error.</p><p>A former maintenance manager for Simkins Industries, Denton started cooking barbecue on a whim. He loved the food and decided to make it his hobby. But he was also determined that if he was going to do it, he would do it right.</p><p>He enrolled in a Kansas City Barbecue Society cooking class and also took a KCBS judging class. After that instruction, Denton hit the ground running, and he didn't waste any time stepping out onto his home turf with his cooking skills. Friends nudged him forward, and Denton, a Columbus resident, entered the festival in 1997.</p><p>Denton and his A-Team didn't perform like rookies when they ventured into the competitive world of barbecue. In his first time out, he placed in the top 10 in all three categories — brisket, pork and chicken — at the barbecue festival.</p><p>After getting his feet wet in Tryon, the A-Team traveled to Shelby for the Hog Happnin' Festival, where he was crowned Reserve Grand Champion in 1997.</p><p>“You just try to do the best you can do and, luckily, we've done pretty good,” Denton said.</p><p>Now Denton is meticulous. After he entered the barbecue world, he traveled through North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee to educate himself on different techniques and different barbecue flavors.</p><p>“I'm always working on my taste,” he said.</p><p>His interest in barbecue hasn't been limited to the competition circuit. He also caters. He's got a trailer that folds out into a barbecuing kitchen, so he can cook no matter where he is. He sets up shop at many of the Polk County festivals.</p><p>The business side, however, doesn't compare to the competitions. Denton remembers not sleeping the nights before the Tryon festival. He'd show up at midnight on Friday.</p><p>“As quick as they inspect my meat, I put my dry rub on,” he said.</p><p>Denton would get his pork and brisket going first, and then around 5 a.m., he'd start his chicken and ribs. The process is painstaking, Denton said, but he doesn't hesitate to identify his favorite part.</p><p>“Preparing it and getting it ready is really enjoyable,” he said. “Even before you cook it, it makes you hungry.”</p><p>When that process is complete and it's time for the judging, Denton admits that he would get “uptight and nervous.”</p><p>“You want everything beautiful when you turn it in,” he said. His wife, Judy, helped the A-Team with appearances, decorating the boxes in which the barbecue was served.</p><p>A successful competitor has to have great-tasting food and a top-notch presentation.</p><p>Denton is sympathetic to the stress the cookers arriving in Tryon this week will be feeling. While they might be anxious, the environment at Harmon Field provides a serene backdrop, he said. Denton has competed all over the Carolinas, but he says the festival in Tryon can't be beat.</p><p>“I love to cook here more than anywhere else IForm'd go,” he said. “Mother Nature makes it beautiful.”</p><p>He would pull up his mobile kitchen to the banks of the North Pacolet River, fire up his grill and go to work.</p><p>“I love to cook beside the water,” he said.</p><p>These days, however, he has no intention of getting back into the competition. The circuit is expensive, he said, and Denton gave that up when he retired in 2011.</p><p>Instead of competing, now he takes time to enjoy the festival. He'll be walking around and talking to cookers and just “meeting old friends.”</p><p>“I like to go around, eat the barbecue and talk to them,” Denton said.</p><p>Some of his friends aren't from out of town. Shane Blackwell, owner of Mountain View Deli and BBQ in Columbus, is an admirer of the local legend.</p><p>“Harry's a good guy,” Blackwell said. “It's awesome that he's volunteering and giving back to the community.”</p><p>Denton loves to volunteer at the festival, but when he's out there mixing it up with the other cookers, he can't help but miss his days of competition.</p><p>“I do miss it,” he said. “It was tough (to give it up).”</p><p>Nonetheless, he's happy that Polk County hosts an event that he loves and thousands of people come from all over the country to eat the barbecue, listen to the music and enjoy the local businesses.</p><p>“We're lucky to have it here in Polk County,” Denton said. “People love to come down here.”</p>